Darting hyperactively among the first spring flowers of a garden, park or hedgerow, this fast-flying bee can seem intent on not letting you have a good look. But persevere, because it is a lovely insect and one of the few bees active in March.
Often also called the feather-footed flower bee, it has distinctive brush-like tufts of long hair on the lower part of its legs. The bee likes to hover in front of flowers, sometimes with its tongue out.
The hairy-footed flower bee is found in Wales and England as far north as Yorkshire (but is more common in the south-east).
Due to its large size, it is often mistaken for a bumblebee. Its coloration is a giveaway, though: females are black with orange fur on the back legs; males are gingery.
Another clue is the bee is very particular about the flowers it visits – usually comfrey, lungwort, green alkanet (an introduced species) or ground-ivy.
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